Fazal Inayat-Khan (July 20, 1942 Montélimar

Montélimar

Montélimar is a commune in the Drôme department in southeastern France. It is the second-largest town in the department after Valence.-History:...

, France

France

The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...

 – September 26, 1990 London

London

London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...

, England

England

England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...

), also known as Frank Kevlin, was the son of Hidayat Inayat Khan

Hidayat Inayat Khan

Hidayat Inayat Khan a classical composer, conductor and Representative-General of the International Sufi Movement...

 and grandson of Hazrat Inayat Khan.

A mystic, poet, psychotherapist and publisher, he was a magnetic and controversial genius who provoked both lasting affection and deep antipathy, sometimes simultaneously.

An inspiring speaker and teacher, the Summer Workcamps, Summer Experiences, and many workshops, trips, and retreats he led frequently incorporated transformative experiences, sometimes disturbing, sometimes delightful. These and the use of chilla (personally focused challenges) reflected traditional Sufi methods and yet were new and fully grounded in the late 20th century Western culture in which he primarily worked. Perhaps nothing exemplified this more than the motorcycle adventures he led in India. These were weeks long, open ended journeys throughout the subcontinent where the ostensible destination (say an ashram in Madras) was just the placeholder for the true destination – the self.

International Sufi Movement

From 1968 to 1982 he was head of the International Sufi Movement.

He held that Sufism has three aspects: it is non-definitive, inclusive, and experiential -

• non-definitive because the real exists without needing to be defined;

• inclusive because it is found in all religions and accepts any form of worship or meditative practice that is appropriate to the moment;

• experiential because it goes beyond theology and second-hand spiritual experience, accepting the possibility of direct revelation.

This unique yet universal approach to Sufism is carried on today by many of his closest friends and followers in the work of The Sufi Way

Two collections of his lectures have been published: "Old thinking, new thinking: The Sufi prism" and "Modern soefisme : over creatieve verandering en spirituele groei
(Modern Sufism: on creative change and spiritual growth)".

Psychotherapy and Neuro Linguistic Programming

Financial constraints led him to earn a living in publishing and psychotherapy. Finding that his family name influenced people's perception of his secular work, he changed his name legally to Frank Kevlin.

As a psychotherapist and early promoter of Neuro Linguistic Programming he was the main motivating force behind the creation of the Association for Neuro Linguistic Programming

Association for Neuro Linguistic Programming

The Association for Neuro-Linguistic Programming is a UK organisation founded in 1985 by Frank Kevlin to promote NLP. Associate Membership is open to anyone interested in NLP and Full Membership is open to holders of recognized NLP qualifications....

 and the inspiration for the Neuro Linguistic Psychotherapy and Counselling Association.

Early life

Born in Vichy France to a Dutch mother and half Indian, half American father with British nationality, he was brought up speaking Hindi, Dutch, English and French. He went to University in California.

Legacy

His challenging and evocative poetry is occasionally performed privately by his followers and has been used successfully for prisoner rehabilitation at one of Britain's high security prisons. It remains unpublished.

Quotations

"You can always love more."

"Sufism has always changed, and that's why it is always the same."

"Everything matters, nothing matters."

"Sufism is a call, a cry to awaken, to the minds who are ready, to the human beings who have slept enough, but to those who still want to sleep, it is merely a lullaby along in their dream."

"My mind is limited. But my heart is not, I hope."

"... minds are not made to agree, but to express beauty ..."

"Sufism, then, is an attempt to bring us to the point at which we have the freedom, the courage, to look at things as a baby does, without foreknowledge"

"Many people are interested in meditation, but not so many are interested in computer programming. Yet computer programming is so similar that you could call it meditation."

"Reality is a symbol."